There’s a persistent and dangerous belief circulating among business owners in rural and small-town America: that hackers only target Fortune 500 companies or tech hubs like New York or Silicon Valley.
But here’s the truth—size doesn’t protect you. In fact, it can make you more vulnerable.
West Virginia’s small businesses are increasingly falling into the crosshairs of cybercriminals for one key reason: they assume they’re not a target—and they act accordingly.
Rural regions are often underprotected. Many businesses here lack dedicated IT teams or enterprise-level security solutions.
Phishing scams and ransomware don’t care about geography. They're automated, indiscriminate, and easy to deploy across thousands of targets at once.
In 2024, there were over 300 documented cyberattacks targeting small government offices and healthcare providers across Appalachia.
If your systems are online, you're on the radar.
Hackers are opportunists. Here’s why West Virginia businesses are appealing:
Weaker defenses: Many small businesses lack advanced firewalls, endpoint protection, or employee training.
Valuable data: Customer records, payment info, even access credentials—these are gold to cybercriminals.
Slow incident response: Without a plan in place, small teams often don’t detect or react until the damage is done.
According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million. Even a modest ransomware event can:
Freeze operations for days or weeks
Destroy customer trust
Trigger compliance penalties
And for small businesses, these consequences can be fatal.
At Forge Cybersecurity, we help small and midsize businesses across West Virginia build practical, affordable defenses. You don’t need a six-figure IT budget to stay safe—you need the right strategy.
✅ Run a professional cybersecurity risk assessment
✅ Train your team to recognize phishing and social engineering
✅ Use multi-factor authentication on everything
✅ Back up your data regularly and securely
✅ Have an incident response plan in writing
Don’t wait until your company is the next cautionary tale.
👉 Forge Cybersecurity is based right here in Appalachia. We know the terrain, and we know how to protect it.